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Tips and Tricks for Interior Painting

East Lyme Property Owner on Ladder Painting Interior Walls with RollerEvery East Lyme rental properties require regular maintenance to keep it in good condition. Most of this maintenance includes painting the interior walls. It looks like a pretty simple task to roll or brush some paint on wherever needed. However, a simple painting job can easily become a nightmare if you’re not properly prepared. If you are getting your rental home ready for a new tenant or giving your property’s walls a much-needed facelift, there are certain tricks the professionals use to ensure a better outcome. By utilizing these pro tips and tricks, you can create your next interior paint job to both look better and become easier to accomplish.

Prep the Right Way

As anyone with experience painting interior walls will tell you, preparing your surfaces before you start to paint is half the battle. You will not only need to prep the walls to be painted, but you also need to protect any adjacent surfaces, furniture, and light fixtures. To plan like a pro, start by removing all light switch and outlets plates, window coverings, and anything else on the walls. After that, get a tack cloth to clean your walls and trim. Tack cloth is a specific kind of cheesecloth designed to remove dust and debris from painted surfaces without water. When you’ve wiped down your surfaces, it’s imperative to take the opportunity to mask off adjacent surfaces using low-stick painter’s tape and masking film. After doing that, you can easily cover windows, light fixtures, and floors. It might be ideal if you also utilize several larger drop cloths to cover furniture and to protect your floors from drips and spills.

Use Quality Materials and Paint

Along with many East Lyme rental property owners, you are probably budget-conscious. However, attempting to cut costs by purchasing cheap materials and paint is not a good idea. To acquire a professional result, invest in good-quality brushes, rollers, and paint pans. In addition, you need to select a quality paint. A cheap paint may seem like a deal, but chances are you’ll end up needing multiple coats to get the same coverage that a better-quality paint can achieve in one. You would definitely end up buying more paint and spending more time coating your interior walls to get the best result than if you had originally purchased a higher quality paint.

Paint Like a Pro

When you’re prepared to begin painting, make sure that you have everything you’ll need on hand. Several pro painters will wear latex or nitrile gloves to keep their hands clean. You need to cover your hair and clothes, too. Paint rollers tend to splatter slightly, particularly when painting ceilings. Begin with the edges of the room and work your way toward the centre since it will help avoid roller marks. Lastly, if your paint job takes longer than a day, wrap your brushes and rollers in plastic overnight. Ensure that the wrapping is airtight. That will shield them from drying out and save you time cleaning them in between painting sessions.

Or Hire a Pro

Obviously, one of the quickest methods to get a professional result is to hire professionals to paint your rental property’s interiors. It can be a challenge to know who you can trust to do a good job, and simply picking a name off a list is not a good idea. You can locate a quality painter by asking around, especially at your local paint or hardware store. Some good sources include local real estate professionals and the experts at Real Property Management Hartford Metro/Greater New London. Once you’ve got a shortlist of names, don’t forget to get at least three bids for the job. You may be pressed for time, but it doesn’t mean that you pay over the market rate for quality work. Ultimately, never pay the painter upfront. That is a huge red flag and may mean they are trying to scam you. If the painter you hired asks for payment in full before starting the job, find another painter.

Painting your rental property’s interiors shouldn’t be a problem. This is particularly correct if you know all the tips and tricks the professionals use to get beautiful results in no time.

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